‘Attainable’ housing’ hits rejections in Glastonbury and Rocky Hill, awaits Simsbury decision

Working to expand its footprint in Connecticut, housing developer Vessel Technologies is looking for zoning approvals in Simsbury and Cheshire following recent setbacks for its proposals in Glastonbury and Rocky Hill.

The New York-based company is midway through building its first Connecticut apartment complex, a 30-unit project in downtown New London, and is eying nearly a dozen other communities for the future.

“There are at least 10 other markets we’re actively pursuing. We’re committed to Connecticut, there’s a deep need for us here,” said John Levy, Vessel’s executive vice president. “The state doesn’t just need housing, it needs housing for the segment of the population we serve.”

Unlike traditional residential developers who are erecting large complexes heavy on spacious two-bedroom units, Vessel focuses on 30- to 80-unit buildings with a vast majority of single bedroom apartments. The company typically proposes using uncommonly small building lots.

Apartment floor space is smaller than average, but the design is heavy on modern amenities and energy-efficient technology. Prices are aimed at working people with limited incomes.

Vessel describes its projects as “attainable,” and emphasizes that they’re between the extremes of high end and publicly subsidized housing.

“We really think our segment is about $65,000 or $70,000 a year, early-stage teachers or municipal workers, young entrepreneurs trying to start a business, maybe college kids who’ve moved home and are starting a career but don’t want to live with their parents,” Levy said.

“That segment can afford $1,625, maybe $1,650 a month. But if you look at the conventional product that’s modern and livable, they’re all $1,900 to $2,200 a month,” Levy said. “So what we give is a great opportunity to have a fantastic quality of life. It lets people really be proud of the place they live in so they want to bring friends home, bring their parents home and say ‘this is where I live.’ ”

Around the state, public reaction has been mixed: Some residents applaud Vessel’s plans for setting aside part of its project for affordable housing, but others contend the architecture doesn’t fit in town. Vessel designs each of its projects with partly pre-assembled apartments in buildings that share a modernistic, spartan style. The number of apartments changes from one project to another, but the look of the buildings is essentially identical.

Vessel has opened its prototype building in Trenton, N.J., and is constructing a 30-unit version of that along Bank Street in New London this spring. The company hopes to be interviewing prospective tenants by summer and is already scouting the city a second location, Levy said.

Recently, Vessel applied for permits to construct a 70-unit building off Route 10 in Cheshire; that application will be heard later in the month.

Earlier this year, planners in Rocky Hill and in Glastonbury turned down Vessel applications. The company has already returned with a new application for its 48-unit Glastonbury project, and has filed an application for a new plan in Cheshire.

“Cheshire is a market I’m really excited about. You haven’t see a lot of development there for several decades, but it’s a wonderful community,” Levy said. “We’re still pursuing a plan in Rocky Hill. In my mind, the site is terrific, it’s the missing tooth on Main Street. And we can do something really positive for tenants in that market.”

Across Rocky Hill’s Main Street, Belfonti Companies has demolished the former Ames corporate headquarters and is constructing a 213-unit apartment complex. Rents have been projected at $1,500 to $2,300 monthly.

“That’s a great high-end project, but the working people of the community aren’t going to be able to afford that,” Levy said.

The company now anticipates proposing a amended version of a 30-unit project in Rocky Hill.

In Simsbury, Vessel wants to build a four-story building with 80 apartments along Hopmeadow Street about a mile from the center of town. It would have 77 one-bedroom apartments and three two-bedroom apartments in a building of about 85,000 square feet on a property of less than 2 acres.

The town’s zoning commission resumed its hearing on the plan Monday night, but took no action. A decision is now expected April 17.

Residents at a hearing in March applauded when zoning commissioners challenged Vessel’s traffic study, which supported the company’s contention that 94 parking spaces would be adequate.

Mark Scully, chairman of the town’s Sustainability Committee, said Vessel’s plan for super-efficient building materials, a solar array and all-electric utilities is good.

“In terms of the energy performance of that building, we’re very excited. It’s an all-electric building, it’s a very efficient high-performance variable refrigerant flow (air conditioning) system,” Scully said. “They will not be consuming fossil fuels.”